Quisling
by SwiftKick
Summary: More than a ghost, less than human. A dead man asks an incarcerated Sakura for a favour. ItaSaku. Compliant up to manga chapter 490.
1. Did I hear You Don't Want to Fight

**Title:** Quisling

**Summary: **More than a ghost, less than human. A dead man asks an incarcerated Sakura for a favour. ItaSaku. Compliant up to manga chapter 490.

**Disclaimer:** Unfortunately, I do not own Naruto or any of its affiliations…I am merely borrowing its characters and settings to indulge my own fantasies and then share said fantasies with other people who equally do not own Naruto. I am not making any profit off this.

**Note:** Random inspiration strikes again! This will be a multi-chapter story, but each instalment will be about this length. I think this might go rather quickly.

O O O

_In the door, and you're there, and you're sorry for the fright_

O O O

Konoha was still in the early stages of reconstruction two months after Pain's attack on the village.

And so, without any permanent lodgings available, Sakura found herself living in one of Yamato's simply constructed barracks. The building had been designed as temporary shinobi quarters, the bare accommodations and limited lighting attesting to such. The furniture consisted of a low table, a set of shelves, and her futon mattress. Her bedding was the only colour in the flat –which wasn't much to brag about, being that it was of the standard shinobi issue grey.

Worse yet was that after her recent "mission" to find Sasuke, Sakura had been taken off the active-duty roster and placed under house arrest. In said barracks. With absolutely nothing to distract her from her long hours of punishment.

Sakura had been cooped up in the room for a week and already she could sense the looming demise of her sanity. A few friends had been understanding enough to bring her books to read, and Sai had even given her a sketch pad, but there was nothing to substitute the freedom of moving around of her own accord. There was nothing to quell the resurfacing insecurities of her own usefulness. Forget the fact that she had failed miserably to apprehend Sasuke – even more aggravating was that she couldn't even contribute in the most mundane of ways to help her village. She was incredibly skilled, at the very least she could be working shifts at the hospital or tending to emergency situations within Konoha.

Locked in her apartment cemented her seemingly expendable purpose.

"Shit! No, no, don't think that way," Sakura scolded herself, taking a minute to dig the heel of her palm into her brow. To pass the painfully slow hours of her sixth night "in the brink", she had been sitting on her futon and staring out her window, watching the moon's leisurely trip across the sky. Unfortunately, this rather subdued activity allowed for quite a bit of reflective thinking, which in turn led to disappointed wallowing. And that led to self-destructive criticism.

She'd dealt enough of that recently, though, and for once was intent to avoid it.

"I don't need to reinforce my own feeling of inadequacy," she said to the otherwise empty room.

Funny thing, Sakura had discovered, when no one was around to hear her, she was still inclined to speak aloud. As if by persistence alone, she'd make an audience. So little time had passed and already she was desperate for company, for communication. Desperate for any sort affirmation that someone other than herself found her interesting, or just cared at all to hear her voice.

The truth was, however, that very few people probably missed _her_ in particular. Sure, someone might whine about needing another medic, but that was a faceless occupation. No one needed the presence of Haruno Sakura specifically. Her own master, Tsunade, was well taken care of in the company of Nara Shikaku, Kakashi was busy carrying out war preparations with other experienced jounin, Naruto was off training with Yamato-taichou, Sai was part of ANBU... Anyone important to Sakura was surely satisfied without her.

"Who am I kidding, I really am a waste of space! … And now I'm deluding myself by talking to _no one_."

Sure there was a guard outside her door, but he or she never deigned to exchange words. Whoever was on rotation would escort her to the wash room three times a day, give her a meal twice a day, and pass on packages that were deemed acceptable for her to receive. That was all. The tall male guard with the shaved head didn't even say her name, just nodded at her when he wanted her to do something.

An incomprehensible moan of frustration escaped her. Sakura stopped rubbing incessantly at her brow and moved her hand so that she could once again observe the moon between her fingers. "Isn't there _anything_ for me to do?" she asked the brightly illuminated orb, hoping some of its light would kindly enlighten her.

"Guh!" A 'thump' and the sound of something heavy sliding down the wall followed immediately. Sakura sat up straighter at the noise, which deceivingly hadn't come from the moon at all, but rather what sounded more like the guard just outside her flat.

Sakura bolted forward and latched onto the bars covering her window. They were situated so that her view was limited, keeping her from seeing what was happening not five feet to her left. The commotion had ended as quickly as it had started, though this observation wasn't a pleasant one.

"Hey, Keimu-san," she called out, knowing she was loud enough for someone outside to hear her. "Everything alright?"

In this circumstance, there would be no reason for the guard to ignore her. Surely an answer would have been acceptable, prudent even. The silence was odd – it made the fine hairs on her arms stand on end.

The sound of keys clinking together filled the emptiness and Sakura jumped when she heard the distinct noise of metal sliding into place on the lock of her door. Her eyes frantically jumped to the handle; her breath hitched as she waited for it to turn.

This was most definitely odd. Outside contact ended very strictly at nine o'clock in the evening –it was well past midnight at this point.

The lock clicked.

Wildly, she hoped that perhaps Ino or Lee had come to free her... Which was ludicrous, she realised, because none of her friends were exactly happy with the actions she had taken and were less than keen to risk their own necks to spring hers.

Sakura watched the handle, tense and ready for it to turn. She nearly jumped out of her skin when instead there was a polite knock at the door. A few choice words dropped from her lips and she clutched at her chest.

Most certainly odd.

Warily, she approached her apartment's only entrance, chakra gathered in her fist (just in case). "Uh, can I help you?" she offered, feeling just a bit foolish.

"I have a proposition for you," a disembodied voice replied. It was muffled and unrecognisable, but masculine. "Care to let me in?"

Sakura lamented over Yamato's decision to not install peep-holes. "Right. Um...who are you?"

There was a brief pause. Then, "I'm a friend."

A friend Sakura had obviously not met before, otherwise all this 'mysterious visitor in the night' crap would just be unnecessary. She frowned. Whoever this was, she could probably take him. So, without further ado, she pulled the door open.

And standing there –without any of his former glory– was one dirty and battered Uchiha Itachi. Covered in debris and shadows as he was, the bright glow of his Sharingan and the style of his long, ebony hair identified him easily enough.

Sakura felt the air in her lungs leave her in one breath, along with more whispered, choice exclamations.

"Hello, Sakura-san, mind if I borrow you for a little while?" the Uchiha asked, his voice surprisingly smooth and deep.

The floor was tilting curiously from under her feet and Sakura had to snap her hand out to catch the frame in order to remain standing. This was too much. "Does nobody stay dead these days?" she asked him, her fear and amazement slowing her thoughts considerably. (What does one do in a situation such as this?)

A sombre smile graced Itachi's lips as he returned her question with one of his own. "How up-to-date is your knowledge of the Uchiha clan? Of Sasuke and myself?"

Silly, silly questions for this man to be asking her. Even more unbelievable was the fact that he was visiting Sakura at her apartment. Speaking casually with her as if he wasn't an infamous criminal, as if they were actually acquaintances of some sort.

Her curt response reflected her state of shock and bewilderment. "Well, Sasuke's tried to kill me three times now, and you're practically a zombie...so I would say that I need quite a few things cleared up. Like now, preferably."

Uchiha Itachi didn't miss a beat at her slightly cheeky words. "I will tell you everything, if in return, you will help me."

Disbelief coloured her face. "This really isn't clearing anything up for me at all. Why should I do anything for you? You destroyed Sasuke's life, put Kakashi-sensei in the hospital, have tried to kill Naruto several times..."

The sad twist of his lips remained. "I spared Sasuke's life, I spared Kakashi-senpai's life, and I spared Naruto-kun's life. If at any point, had I exerted myself with any real intent to do harm, none of your nakama would be alive right now."

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows.

"I am offering you a chance to prove yourself, kunoichi. You should take it," Itachi insisted, though his tone hadn't changed.

The guard on the floor next to Itachi groaned and her eyes snapped to the man. It was Naoto-san, the one with a shaved head. She was surprised to see he was alive. Of course, the more she thought about it, after his defection from Konoha, all of the shinobi who had encountered the Uchiha had survived. That _was_ a bit exceptional, considering his reputation and terrible amount of skill.

"You're not giving me much time to think this decision over, Uchiha-san," she pointed out.

"The circumstance does not allow for us to idle."

"What could you possibly need me to do?"

Itachi stared directly at Sakura, his deadly eyes appraising her seriously. "You're the most familiar with Chiyo-sama's forbidden jutsu. I am certain you can help me escape from my current predicament."

Sakura couldn't say she actually knew much about the Kishō Tensei technique. "Even if I could figure it out, who would you even want me to use it on?"

Before Itachi could answer her, there was a noise from down the hallway as a group of shinobi landed on the railing at the opposite end of the building. Conveniently, Naoto's body was hidden from their view by Itachi's cloak. Itachi himself looked all the part of a guard bundled up for the night shift. Nevertheless, Sakura knew both of them were tense as the four took their time entering their apartment.

It took her a second to realise that she hadn't called out to them or anything. Hadn't bothered to yell, 'hey, wanted missing-nin right here!' If she were to be completely honest with herself, Sakura knew that she was actually contemplating accepting the Uchiha's proposal.

"So who?" she prompted again.

Itachi, who had been carefully observing the cell down the way, brought his scarlet gaze back to her. "Me."

Sakura eyed him skeptically. "But you're –"

"Merely a puppet of Yakushi Kabuto's at the moment."

"How so?" Sakura took a step forward to scrutinize the man. As far as she could tell, he was a bit rough around the edges, though certainly made of flesh as opposed to wood. The only seams she could discern were those of his clothes. "Do you mean this metaphorically?"

Itachi wasn't looking at her any longer, his eyes averted to the side. Almost bashfully, she thought. "You have heard of Orochimaru's Kuchiyose, Edo Tensei, I'm sure," he said quietly, waiting for her to nod her head before he continued. "I need you to help me remove the seal that's keeping my soul under Kabuto's control."

"It doesn't seem that you are acting of his will right now."

Finally, Itachi returned his attention to her, a hint troubled. "I have a rather strong resistance to it and have managed to escape. For now."

"And once you're free of...Kabuto, really? He's still around? Ah – what do you plan to do then?"

There was no hesitation in his reply. "Stop Sasuke and Madara."

Itachi's face was hard and unapologetic, and the harshness unsettled her in a strange manner. Sakura swallowed solemnly, her chin bobbing with the motion. This was almost too surreal for her to accept. Would pinching herself to check if she were dreaming be too obvious?

"Sakura-san, I need your decision quickly. I cannot linger." She heard his words over the loud sound of her heartbeat. _Thump. Thump. Thump._ It was slow and steady, despite her apprehension. Why wasn't her body reacting more appropriately? She was a bit dizzy from their conversation, but otherwise her hands weren't shaking, her knees were supporting her just fine, even the raised hairs on her forearms had calmed.

This was a notorious mass murdered she was speaking with, shouldn't she be more terrified?

A thought crossed her mind quite abruptly: _What do I have to lose?_

This could be a trap. She didn't even know for certain that this man was in fact Uchiha Itachi. It could just be some random person with a very convincing disguise trying to kidnap her or something. She could die. Perhaps be used for ransom or in some other capacity as leverage.

_But_ –she supplied, debating against herself, _who would bother to do such a thing?_ Haruno Sakura held absolutely no worth to Konoha in light of a world war. No one, not even her shishou, would be able to take the time to worry over one soldier's life. And with Naruto gone, she didn't think any of her friends would be reckless enough to try and rescue her either.

And it's not bloody likely that Itachi was taking her to somehow incite his younger brother; she had already made it clear that Sasuke could not care less for her life.

Her answer came rather easily after this bleak observation.

"Okay," she agreed.

Itachi blinked, but that was the extent of his reaction.

"On one condition, Uchiha," she dropped the polite suffix. "Train me in genjutsu. Obviously nothing related your bloodline limit, but whatever else I think I can handle. And if you plan on killing me, know that I won't let it happen so easily. I'm a medic and am prepared to take you out if I feel it is necessary."

Itachi inclined his head, accepting her terms. "You should pack lightly."

Three minutes later and they were dashing down the shadowy streets, past the protective barrier and away into the mild spring night.

O O O

**Author's Note:** This is just for fun :D I don't at all think this would ever actually happen. Unfortunately.

Please leave a review :)


	2. I've Got Grounds for Recourse

**Disclaimer:** Unfortunately, I do not own Naruto or any of its affiliations…I am merely borrowing its characters and settings to indulge my own fantasies and then share said fantasies with other people who equally do not own Naruto. I am not making any profit off this.

**Note:** ...People will think of Harry Potter while reading Quisling. That was totally unintentional. :[

O O O

_Your lungs fill with discourse_

O O O

"You are handling this better than I had anticipated," Itachi remarked as he observed Sakura while she worked.

After travelling for several hours, the two had crossed the border into Grass and finally decided to take a small break. As was her duty in this odd deal they had struck, Sakura had started examining Itachi right away. She'd barely caught her breath before she'd asked him to remove his cloak and take a seat on the forest floor. While waiting for his heart rate to calm, she was busy with moving his limbs and watching his muscle movement.

"This is quite an advanced jutsu," Sakura murmured from where she perched beside him, completely ignoring the Uchiha's words. As far as she'd read in scrolls detailing Edo Tensai, the body of one summoned was supposed to be reform from ash, not real tissue. Itachi, amazingly, was entirely flesh, bones, and blood. Plus all of the other things of which the human body was meant to be composed. Aside from the smudges across his face, there wasn't any dirt to be found. "This is absolutely incredible."

Itachi was silent, grimacing only slightly as Sakura ran her hands over his fingers and delightfully cracked his knuckles. "Ow." He had yet to snap those tendons.

"Just like a real one," the medic said, smiling in an awed manner.

"What can you do about the seal?" Itachi asked, eager to get her to focus on the actual problem.

Sakura raised her eyes to his, looking a bit dismayed. "What? Already? Can't I just have a little more time to check out if everything else works?"

For some reason, Itachi's cheeks warmed. "I can tell you right now that it does. At the moment, I am more concerned about my soul."

"Right, yes. _That._" As a medical professional, Sakura had less interest in the metaphysical than actual substance; but then again, she was also a ninja –a practitioner of the demon arts– so she could see where his concern came into play. "Where's the seal?"

Itachi sat forward and swivelled around, his back now to her. He slipped off his plain black tee and mesh shirt, exposing the tag from where it was positioned between his shoulder blades. Sakura swept the long strands of his hair to the side and let out a low whistle at the complicated ink characters.

"Tell me again why you think Chiyo's jutsu will help us here?"

"Kabuto is using his life force to contain my free will with this seal. I thought the only thing to end it would be his death or the introduction of a stronger life force to cancel out his." It was a rough theory, as he'd only had a couple of days to consider it, but he thought it sound enough to test out.

"Interesting," Sakura agreed, running her hands over the paper. "Have you been able to get a look at the seal yourself? It's true that there seem to be similar elements at work."

"I guessed," he admitted. It wasn't like he could see it very easily, and mirrors were hard to come by in his current situation.

Sakura laughed, only slightly envious of the man's genius. _He guessed_. "Unbelievable," she whispered. "I think I'm a little out of my league here."

"Don't be intimidated, Sakura. I would not have come to you had I any doubt about your talent."

She 'hmmed' suspiciously. "Are you sure it wasn't just because I was convenient? Maybe you thought I would go along with it because of my history with Sasuke? That I'd help you out with the intent to capture you for him? Something along those lines?"

There was a pause. "I don't have _that_ much faith in your abilities," he said, speaking from around what sounded like a smirk.

Sakura frowned. "Uchihas. So egotistical," but she had the feeling he was teasing her, so she didn't mind too much. Besides, she knew that if it really came down to it, all she needed was to land one hit on a vital point and even the Uchiha Itachi would be dead by her hand.

"What do you make of the theory?" Itachi asked, once again getting back to point.

"If we have some time, I think I can take a go at this idea of yours. Let me copy the script down, and then at least you can put your clothes back on."

For some reason, this time Sakura's face warmed at her comment. She ignored the strange happening and occupied herself with searching through her rucksack for a scroll and ink. If she thought hard enough, she could remember what Chiyo had done to save Gaara's life, because Sakura had thought at the time that some day she might be willing to do the same for someone. The difficult part was trying to figure how Chiyo had utilized chakra to do the technique.

It was something more than just chakra she had given Gaara, or else it would have just been like the Mystical Palm jutsu that medics used. The spiritual energy involved had been...more concentrated than was normal.

Sakura considered the markings she was copying down, a strange thought occurring to her. "Kabuto could be using a part of his soul to restrain the summoned person," she mused.

"Do you think it is possible for a person to split his soul in such a manner? Into seven parts?" Itachi's response startled Sakura, she hadn't meant to say anything aloud.

"Seven parts?" she echoed.

Itachi grimaced; he had not mentioned yet the fact that half the Akatsuki had been summoned back to life along with him. "Along with myself, Kabuto has restored Deidara, Kakuzu, Pein and Sasori. There is also another body, I'm certain."

"Guy's been busy," she remarked, dryly. Truthfully, he heart had seized painfully at the name of her old enemy, the puppet master. "This may have something to do with your strong resistance to his seal; he may be spreading his power too thin."

"Perhaps."

Sakura finished with her notes and clapped Itachi's back in a satisfied manner. "You're good to go, kiddo," she said, unconsciously saying what she usually did to patients at the hospital. Her happy face contorted immediately into one of incredulous regret. "I...um..." Whatever his motivations may have been, Itachi had still murdered nearly an entire clan; she couldn't be too casual around him. "Ah...sorry," she mumbled.

Thankfully, he was fine to ignore the slip up as he moved around to face her once more, even looking a bit troubled himself. "Still not handling it _too_ well, I see," he said, referencing what he had said earlier.

"It's just...strange, you know?" Sakura tried, but then quipped that, _no, he probably didn't_.

Itachi changed the subject swiftly, sparing her. "I can teach you a genjutsu now, if you'd like?"

Seeing that his eyes were a natural (somehow still quite entrancing) black, Sakura nodded her head. She was good at dispelling even high-level genjutsu, so she didn't feel too nervous.

"This one is good for use in the middle of a fight. It only has twelve hand signs and its effect is immediate. It causes an opponent's vision to tilt by about ten degrees, enough to throw off his balance but not so drastically as to make him immediately consider a genjutsu is to blame. More skilled fighters will figure it out quicker of course, or at least adjust faster, but it will give you at least a few seconds."

A few seconds in a shinobi battle was sometimes all that was needed in order to win. Especially in her case, Sakura thought.

Itachi recited the seals as he formed each one, slowing his speed as to allow her time to memorize the combination. As he finished the twelfth one, Sakura jolted as her view readjusted itself suddenly. Even though she had been expecting it, she still reached a hand to the ground to steady herself, and ended up punching the dirt rather clumsily as her depth perception and orientation were completely off. She resisted the urge to shake her head at the uncomfortable sensation.

"Kai," Sakura said, dizzily slapping her hands together to end the spell. "Wow...that's useful."

"Would you like to try it?" Itachi smiled at her.

Sakura felt her heart falter again, though in way different from earlier. Without the reason of examining his condition, there was no excuse for their closeness. They'd barely moved an inch from where the two had first sat down and the gentle curve of his lips so close to her highlighted this fact considerably. It was such a peculiar image that she felt the need to touch his face to see if it were real – and because of their proximity, she knew that, if she really wanted, she could simply reach forward and do so.

Her hand lifted up of its own accord. "Ah," she started, halting her action before what she had intended to do became too apparent. "Would I..? Oh! Y-yes, please."

There was a certain talent that came with successfully using genjutsu, and as Itachi stumbled in his seated position for no visible reason after her first attempt, Sakura thought that she might just have it. She giggled at amusing sight, slapping a hand over her mouth a second late.

She wondered if Itachi was the type to get upset when someone laughed at his expense.

But then he was smiling and laughing himself, abashedly admitting he'd never been on the receiving end of the jutsu before. "I had no idea it was _that_ troublesome."

Sakura was thinking more along the vein of not having any idea that Uchiha Itachi could be helpful and carefree. Curious, curious.

To see Itachi acting so open and _human_ was unexpected. He had emotions –sincere, pleasant ones at that– and expressions. He was even sort of funny. Had he been this way before his death? And while on that note, she voiced something she'd been contemplating. "What was it like, Itachi?" she asked, all giddiness absent quite abuptly.

Itachi straightened at her question, catching onto her serious intent. He did not immediately respond, taking a moment to gather himself, leaving their lighthearted moment with reluctance. "Do you mean –"

"After you died."

It was a personal question, Sakura supposed, and she may not have asked it of a friend, but she didn't fear Itachi's rejection. If he became upset with her, she wouldn't really mind. It would be annoying for a little while, but they'd get over it out of necessity. On the other hand, if he did answer her...

The man sitting in front of her looked away, letting his attention wander to a patch of grass his fingers had found. He lost a few years before her eyes as he considered his words. "It was not as lonely as I had expected," he replied at last.

It made Sakura sad. She didn't know why, but his softly spoken words settled heavily on her heart, though she figured rationally that it should have cheered her up. Not being lonely was a good thing.

The fact that he had been prepared for something far worse unsettled her. Sakura was reminded again that he had murdered many people, and now she knew that he was just as aware of that truth as she.

She didn't want to think of what this meant for Heaven and Hell. For the Will of Fire. What – _who_ – determined how Itachi fit into the picture? Where did any shinobi or soldier fall? And when her time came..?

"How do you feel about being alive again?" Sakura couldn't help herself. Aware that she was probably stretching some line of conduct they'd never formally talked about, she avoided his gaze by concentrating on the same clump of grass under his hand's loose hold. Itachi had discovered a little weed in disguise of a flower and was petting it gently.

"It is more painful than one would expect," he answered, again somewhat vaguely, but she thought she understood his meaning. "It is not all bad, though," he said, plucking the flower from its place and raising it to his nose. He rolled the stem between his fingers, allowing the petals to dance across his lips.

Belatedly, Sakura realised he was watching her.

O O O

**Author's Note:** .[Edit] Or well, at least...I tried to fix what typos I could find. =( Sorry, I'm a terrible eye for correcting my own writing.

thanks for the reviews! Ah...I love reviews...thank you! Cuz like, for real, I'm so lonely otherwise … :D


	3. Bring It Up and Bring It In

**Disclaimer:** Unfortunately, I do not own Naruto or any of its affiliations…I am merely borrowing its characters and settings to indulge my own fantasies and then share said fantasies with other people who equally do not own Naruto. I am not making any profit off this.

**Note:** ...I think I always write Sakura somewhat out of character. Probably because I give her more credit than Kishimoto would normally allow. :/

**Chapter Three:** Bring It Up and Bring It In

O O O

_We'll get you fixed up in no time_

O O O

They hadn't had time to idle, even once in Grass Country, and so their stop had been brief.

And yet the image of Itachi's dark gaze considering her from lowered eyelashes still burned bright in her mind. Thinking about it again inspired her blush to reawaken, and she thanked Kami she was currently speeding over branches in front of her company, where he couldn't see the damning stain of her cheeks.

She hoped she wasn't one to colour on the back of her neck.

"After I was nominated for ANBU, my father's plans for me became even more vital," Itachi said, continuing his narrative as they travelled. Sakura had been filled in on his rather isolated childhood as a talented shinobi and clan heir. She'd been a bit surprised by his admission to being a pacifist, but that had quickly become the most believable part of the story.

"Of course, if you were so close to the Hokage, I can only imagine what he asked of you," Sakura replied, talking in order to get rid of the teasing picture still painted vividly in her mind's eye. Who knew men and flowers were such a wonderful combination?

If Itachi noticed her split attention span, then he did not comment. "I was to spy for him and the clan elders. "

"At what point did the Third figure you out, then?" According to Itachi, Sarutobi-sama and the other council members, including Danzou, had ordered Itachi to annihilate the clan. It was...a disturbing revelation at the very least, but one she was slowly coming to accept.

"I confessed everything to him immediately. I was still a child, I didn't wish for a war. I thought if I was honest with the Village, then we could avoid a confrontation and casualties."

Sakura snorted. "Nice position to be in as a little kid. How old were you by this point?"

"Thirteen."

At thirteen, Sakura had still been hung up on her childhood crush and only just started any rigorous ninja training. She hadn't even completed any A-class missions by that time. "You weren't in the Black Ops for very long, then, before the massacre..."

"No. I was promoted solely to quell the rebellion. The Third, or to be more accurate, Shimura Danzou, had been preparing a high calibre course of action for quite a while. I would venture to guess at least since my jounin promotion."

"Pleasant."

Itachi's history was a heavy one, so they allowed for stretches of contemplation between chapters. Sakura was having a difficult time coming to terms with the possible dark nature of Konohagakure, but she supposed she was still taking it relatively well. She'd only lost her footing three or four times.

To think the man with the flower pressed against his lips was once a boy saddled with the fate of the shinobi world on his shoulders. Kill your family or let the world die, or so they told you. Help the clan, help the world, or so they told you.

What kind of thirteen year old can make such a decision?

Sakura landed on a particularly sturdy branch and turned to meet Itachi as he appeared beside her. Despite his rather rough look, considering the state of his clothes, he was still quite an imposing figure. His lean frame was outlined by the morning sun, his sleek hair and pale skin illuminated in the light. Like the quiet forest around them, his gaze was subdued as he watched her look him over.

"Someone like this," she said in response to her own question, a bit breathless from running.

Itachi raised an eyebrow to convey his confusion at her statement.

"Yeah, yeah, I was talking about you," Sakura confirmed for him, waving her hand dismissively and turning her head away. When he did little things like that, it was easy to forget who and what he was: a puppet. A spirit that didn't belong, snatched from the Otherworld and trapped in a body not entirely his own.

He was something unnatural.

Sakura glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, blushing a little when she saw that he had yet to look away.

Itachi was... still very much intriguing.

To distract herself from this fact, she reached into her pouch for her canteen. She took a long swig of the cool water and splashed a little on her brow. "What do you say we find a spot to lay low until this evening?" she asked, thinking it would be best to get some rest during the hot and busy afternoon hours.

"That is reasonable," Itachi agreed. She saw that he hadn't bothered to rehydrate himself, and then, thinking back, she realised she couldn't remember him ever having done so.

She thrust the canteen out, studiously staring out into the trees as if scouting for something. "Here, have some of this. You've got to be thirsty."

His fingers were warm when they brushed over hers. "Thank you."

Sakura schooled her expression and told herself not to think of an indirect kiss. Besides, Itachi would probably be polite and – Ah, no, had his lips touched the rim just then? _Not important. Shinobi do this all the time. _For Kami's sake, Sakura thought, she had shared bottles with Sai and Kiba. This was everyday, perfectly boring stuff.

"This is..." Itachi said after a moment, sounding almost embarrassed. She looked to see that he had the canteen turned upside down in front of him, clearly bewildered at its empty state. For the first time since she'd met an Uchiha, one stuttered. "I...ah, I finished it. I'm very sorry. That was entirely unintentional."

It started as just one little hiccup, but Sakura soon found herself laughing outright at Itachi's dismayed face. It was too..._cute_, really; she couldn't think of any other word. Mimicking his cultured voice, she said between giggles, "_entirely unintentional!_"

Itachi regarded her carefully, not quite sure what to make of her little bout of joy.

"I'm sorry," Sakura said, finally calming a bit, though her smile remained. "It was the look on your face, and the words... It was..." she faltered, remembering with whom she was talking. "Um, I'm glad you had something to drink. Let's move out."

"Very well." Sakura wondered if she imagined the slight abashment in his tone.

Some time later they had managed to find a secure and hidden place to rest. While unsealing her medical kits in order to find a water purification tablet, Sakura became even more aware of Itachi's complete lack of supplies. Without his cloak slung over his shoulders, it was obvious that the only gear he had on him was the standard shinobi set of kunai, wire, and shuriken.

"When did Kabuto resurrect you again?" she asked, taking in his worn appearance.

"Two days ago."

"And when did you last eat?"

Itachi gave her a blank look. "I suppose, as a tool for battle, I haven't felt the need to eat since I was brought back."

"What? You can't be serious," Sakura said, immediately grabbing her kit in order to more properly examine his condition. He'd made a spot to sit in the nook of a set of roots, so she settled on one of the protruding anchors, first and foremost intent on checking for dehydration. She didn't give him an opportunity to deny her poking and prodding.

"When I had that water earlier, I realised how thirsty I actually was, but it hadn't bothered me beforehand. I had hardly spared a thought for food, either."

Normally she would have recognised the symptoms earlier, but she had incorrectly attributed them to Kabuto's jutsu.

Sakura 'hmm'ed as she pinched at Itachi's skin, noting its poor elasticity, and wasn't surprised by his stiffening muscles and slow capillary refill. "This could have become very serious," she scolded both him and herself lightly. "But I have something that can help you out."

From her pack, she withdrew a small, wrapped parcel. "Soldiers pills?" Itachi asked as she unfolded the white cloth.

"Nope. These are meant to be taken during recuperation, not as stimulants. You'll still need some fluids, though. Take one for now."

Itachi diligently did as she instructed.

"It melts at body temperature, so it can be taken without water. Useful, right?" she asked, a bit hopeful. "I have to store them in special packaging, with this seal here, but otherwise they're pretty hardy." Sakura glanced away. "I developed them myself."

The corner of Itachi's mouth lifted up. "They are quite useful, Sakura."

He had thought that saying this would please her, and it had inspired a smile at first, but her expression wilted. Before he could say anything more, Sakura sat up and brushed off her skirt in a brisk manner, grabbing the bottles from her pack.

"I'm going to refill our water. You can tell me more about...your situation, when I return." There was a disturbance in there air as she flickered away.

Several hundred yards to the east, the air shivered as Sakura reappeared next to a fast flowing stream. The canteens in her hand fell to the ground with a clatter as she let her knees buckle. "Good for healthy snacks, _quite useful_," she congratulated herself, her tone far from sincere.

It was for this reason Sakura had followed an S-class missing nin out of the safety of her village. In Konoha, she was fine for making nutrient boosters and that was the extent of her contribution, wasn't it? And then Itachi arrived, and for the first time in a long time, someone suggested she had talents outside of the medical field.

Studying the seal inked out over his back had reminded Sakura that she was intelligent and knowledgeable. Yet so easily had she fallen back into the tidy little role of nurse, even fishing for a compliment from a patient.

Upset with herself, she splashed some water on her face, rubbing tiredly at her eyes. Sakura had a chance to test the extent of her shinobi skills, she couldn't let this go by.

One way or another, she would break Kabuto's seal.

O O O

**Author's Note:** Thank you for all the lovely reviews~ Seriously, they are like therapeutic or something...


	4. Walking With a Ghost

**Disclaimer:** Unfortunately, I do not own Naruto or any of its affiliations…I am merely borrowing its characters and settings to indulge my own fantasies and then share said fantasies with other people who equally do not own Naruto. I am not making any profit off this.

**Note:** Lady Silvamord pointed out a similarity in this story with Twilight. I'm not sure what it is– I've never had the desire to read those books... but please excuse whatever overlap there is …Seriously, that's the last thing I would want to do with this story.

**Chapter Four:** Walking With a Ghost

O O O

_I was walking with a ghost ... I said please, please don't insist_

O O O

"Do you feel better now?"

Sakura had the control not to visibly startle at Itachi's sudden arrival next to her. She lowered her hands from her face, where she had been frustratedly rubbing at her eyes, to reach for the canteens. She dunked one into the stream. "Didn't I ask you to stay put?"

Itachi moved to kneel down next to her, taking a bottle as well. "You did not."

"Oh. Well, I should have," she admonished herself softly. "You need to rest for now. At least until I figure out what's going on with your body."

But the man was persistent, and didn't budge from where he crouched at her side, hand submerged in the gently moving water. Their hands were close enough that the bottles would clink every now and then.

"I've been thinking," Sakura started, voicing the theory that had been running through her mind since the Uchiha had first claimed to be the product of Kabuto's jutsu. "I might know how you came to have...actual flesh again."

Her audience was silent, willing her to continue as they both reached for a new container. Sakura dropped tablets into the full ones. "The Second's jutsu normally imitates forms by remoulding ash, but that's not the case with you. If my guess is correct, I think Kabuto actually created human tissue from scratch materials."

Itachi made a thoughtful noise, and Sakura cringed slightly. This was probably not the greatest thing to hear for somebody in his position. "What I mean is," she elaborated, "the body is created from the same material the earth provides – basic things like carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen. Water and dirt, when hit with an electric charge, will form one cell organisms. As a medic and scientist, Kabuto would know this. So I'm wondering if he was able to figure the right proportions of the proper materials in order to give you an actual body again."

"He would need a lot of electricity to do that," Itachi supplied, and Sakura thought he was dispelling her idea, before he continued. "I know of a jutsu that could have done it. Sasuke used it against me when we fought. Kabuto could very well know it as well."

"Since he would have needed a human sacrifice to begin with, it would not be too absurd for him to have used that jutsu combined with Edo Tensei to create...well, your body." She exhaled heavily with the conclusion of her speculation and turned to Itachi, waiting for his reaction.

His long hair had fallen in front of his eyes like a curtain keeping her out, but she could see the slight tensing to his mouth. "It is an incredible theory," Itachi said at last, voice quiet. He raised his head, black eyes meeting her green eyes.

Sakura held her breath, lost in the depths of his dark gaze. With his hauntingly beautiful face and cool expression, she couldn't help but wonder if this is what one felt like when met by a monster. This technique that Kabuto had mastered was walking the line of the powers of the gods...

And here was its product staring right at her.

More so than Pain returning souls to their rightful bodies. More so than attaching souls to temporary piles of ash. Shinobi -with shadow clones and water clones- had always been chasing this idea, but for Kabuto to have actually managed to pull it off was quite a frightening realization.

Where could the technique go from this point? If he were able to create fully formed flesh from borrowed materials, was it possible to create new souls from similarly recycled sources?

Sakura shivered and quickly looked back to the canteen in her hands. It was full; she watched the water flow around it, adjusting to the disruption in the current. Her hands were white in the cold stream, the veins beneath her skin vivid and blue.

A hand, larger than her own, slender and strong, wrapped around her grip on the canteen and pulled it from the water. Itachi's body was incredibly warm, and her skin coveted his heat desperately

Another shiver, but this time it was mixed with things other than apprehension.

The container fell from her fingers, but Itachi's hold remained. "Are you scared?" he asked, voice low and smooth.

Sakura couldn't answer. More than anything, she felt worried, but she couldn't say for what. The future of ninjutsu? The lives of her friends in the upcoming war against Madara? What this meant for the man brushing his fingers over her hand. "I don't know," she admitted, the soft caresses making her voice rough. "I could ask the same of you..."

Anything she was feeling was nothing compared to what Itachi must be considering. He had died. His soul had left this world, and his body had decayed. Yet here he was, blood pumping as surely as hers, his heart beating in his chest in kind with her own.

Was he worried? Was he scared? Confused? Desperate?

Suddenly Sakura didn't want to know. As carefully as she could, movements slow and steady, she withdrew her hand from Itachi's. "You should drink this – the tablet has purified it by now," she said, referring to the water. "Take little sips."

Mechanically, she offered him the canteen, her head slightly averted. He hesitated, not quite ready to let the subject go, before finally accepting it.

"Would you like to head back to the camp?" Sakura asked then, standing up. Her muscles were cramped from kneeling already, and the idea of a nap was tugging insistently at her.

Itachi shook his head, saying he would like some time to himself. With a curt nod of her chin, she left him to his thoughts.

Sprawled out on her mat some time later, Sakura was having trouble quieting her own musings. Despite a night without sleep and plenty of travel, her body's need for sleep wasn't enough to dissuade her over active mind. She couldn't stop herself from thinking how much longer she and Itachi had before Kabuto called on him, only to find that his puppet had wandered off.

She wondered what would happen in that circumstance, and the image of an Orochimaru-powered up Kabuto popping into their little clearing was not a pleasant one. The man would be able to locate Itachi, most likely, and surely he would come to reclaim him. And then what? Take her out? Maybe have Itachi do the honours?

A pitiful moan escaped her. For all the years Itachi had been a missing nin, Sakura had never really bothered to be afraid of him killing her. What did she have to do with him, any way? Even that one time in Wind Country, when he (or his clone, really) had interrupted their mission, she'd never really thought he was there to kill her. In the end, he had never even glanced her way.

But now, after she had learned about his double agent status and his good intentions, she had all the reason in the world to think he could kill her in a second.

Kabuto needn't even be in attendance; his tag's control could come back at any time, and she would never know better until Itachi had the sword buried into her up to the hilt.

With that cheerful thought, Sakura turned over to find her notes on Kabuto's fuda seal. Sleep could wait.

Every seal had base components, if she were able to isolate each one used, then she could individually counteract them in a seal of her own. That wasn't much of a problem, considering her knowledge of seals was greater than most, but the real trouble was the power she would need to use in order to carry it out. It was more than chakra alone; like Chiyo had done for Gaara, it would take life energy to override the original seal.

Sakura felt Itachi's chakra flare before he returned, as he had decided to walk this time. He passed by her and dropped something into her lap. "My bar of shampoo," she said, identifying the something while lifting an eyebrow.

Itachi was too dignified to shrug his shoulders, but he looked carefully indifferent nonetheless. "I had none of my own."

She gave him a nonplussed look, slightly off put that he had looked through her scrolls in order to get the soap. Hopefully he hadn't unsealed the one in which she had stored her clothes.

Unfortunately, Itachi seemed to have read her mind. He kept his face dispassionately aloof. "Interesting that you have stayed with your namesake as a theme."

Ah, yes, there was her answer. Of course he would find her bra and panties with pink little flowers on them. Isn't that how it always worked out? Sakura groaned aloud, slapping a hand over her face as a blush rose to her cheeks. She chewed the inside of her mouth, not quite sure how to respond to his questionable cheekiness.

"Have you made any progress with your research?" Itachi didn't let her say anything, tactfully not dwelling on the discussion of her undergarments.

"Some," Sakura acknowledged. "That can wait for now. How are you feeling?"

She grabbed her kit again and, as she had done earlier, moved to sit next to Itachi. "Fine," was all he offered. Frowning at his rather bleak response, she checked his pulse at his wrist and then laid the back of her palm against his forehead for a temperature. Both seemed normal for a shinobi.

"I'd like to check your respiration, as well," she said, looking through her supplies for a stethoscope. However, several rounds of checking her bag repeatedly yielded no stethoscope. _Ah, it's not _too_ important. _She sighed, _except that it's a vital part of any physical examination._

Itachi was very intently staring at her hands as she wrung them nervously. She watched him watch her, then he looked up to her face and she glanced away quickly. Sakura grimaced internally and reminded herself that there was no time for her to be unprofessional. "I'd like to listen to your lungs," she said finally.

"That is fine."

He probably didn't know what he was permitting with that, but similarly, Sakura didn't feel like explaining what she was going to do. If she said it aloud, she probably would not be able to go through with it. Very cautiously, she moved from her perch on the root to sit next to Itachi. He went to pull his shirt off, but she stopped him with a light touch on his forearm.

"It's ok," she said, maybe more to herself than to the man beside her. Sakura focused on his chest, not brave enough to look him in the eyes. "Please excuse me."

Placing a hand on the other side of him, she leaned forward, almost as if she were embracing him, to rest her ear against his sternum. His heartbeat was steady and loud, and with chakra concentrated to enhance her hearing, she could also make out the flow of air into and out of his lungs.

But the scratchy sound of her own skin meeting cotton fabric was like a heavy blanket of white noise, obscuring everything else.

She pulled away, cheeks warm as she once again didn't meet Itachi's eyes. "It's no good. ...Could you remove..?"

Her sentence drifted off as Itachi had already started to slip the offending material up and over his head, taking the mesh under shirt with it. His bare chest revealed flushed and healthy skin covering finely toned muscles. For a dead man, he possessed a surprisingly robust physique.

Though Sakura had already seen him without his shirt on -while examining his back- it was a little different face to face. Especially since she'd been staring at his chest, only to flit her eyes to his face by accident to find him watching her again. His distant expression was somehow less so.

"Is this more accommodating?" he asked, the question phrased innocently enough.

Her voice refused to cooperate, so Sakura merely nodded before resuming her examination.

She closed her eyes as she leaned against Itachi, trying to ignore the intense heat he radiated and instead be more attentive to her work. The most prominent sound was his heart, still even and relaxed, but she adjusted her position slightly to listen more for his lungs.

His breathing was slow and controlled, drawn out compared to the tempo of his pumping blood. Everything was normal and functioning well, so calm it was easing even her own nerves. She had heard all that she needed to, but she couldn't move, lulled by the sound of his heart.

There was a feeling of fingers brushing over her hair and instantly Sakura tensed, becoming aware of herself once more. An apology fell from her lips as she tried to pull away.

"Please forgive me," Itachi said, words quiet and his hold insistent. "Just a moment longer."

A heavy knot formed in Sakura's chest and a cool thrill of anticipation ran through her. All he was asking of her was to stay still, was that really so harmful?

She didn't move again.

O O O

**Author's Note: **Please review~

Lady Silvamord did the beta-read on this one! Thank you~


	5. Make Those Eyes At Me

**Disclaimer:** Unfortunately, I do not own Naruto or any of its affiliations…I am merely borrowing its characters and settings to indulge my own fantasies and then share said fantasies with other people who equally do not own Naruto. I am not making any profit off this.

**Note:** Wooooo

**Chapter Five:** Make Those Eyes At Me

O O O

_I lose my grip, I lose my focus_

O O O

Sometimes shinobi craved the comforts of another person's company.

Except that Itachi wasn't just a shinobi. Even in light of his circumstance, he was a mass murderer –a killing machine more finely honed than most in the ranks would ever care to be. He had been subjected to the worst of what humanity could offer, had donned the despicable visage himself, and had done it all since childhood.

Itachi was not a normal person, and the grim truth was that Kabuto was not the only cause of that.

"Ah, it is going to rain." Sakura heard Itachi's observation as if from far away, not quite grounded with her situation at all. Only when his hand fell away from where it had been running through her hair did she finally become more alert.

Muscles a bit stiff from inactivity and an awkward pose, she rolled her shoulders as she sat back more comfortably. She didn't move very far, leaning against the tree just at Itachi's side. "Grass country is pretty notorious for sudden downpours," she said, not at all interested in calling out her company's strange behaviour.

Itachi was not normal, he wouldn't act as one would expect.

"Hn."

The first drops of water came, landing fat and heavy where the canopy was thinnest. Moving as deftly as she could, which was a pretty fair amount, Sakura gathered her bed roll and various things, sealing everything away in scrolls, before resuming her seat. "Well, this is lousy luck," she said, clipping her pouches back onto her belt. "Can't get much work done like this."

Itachi didn't answer, and for another length of time, neither of them said anything. Sakura was close to falling asleep when finally Itachi spoke up.

"There is another way," he murmured, prompting Sakura to lean a bit closer to hear him.

"How do you mean?" She studied his profile, not quite following his words.

He looked down at her, a wary taint to his expression. "I know how to find some more time, but Sakura, I need to know how long it will take you to figure out the technique."

Sakura met his gaze, entirely confused as to what he was talking about. She tried to estimate how much time she would need. "Probably a week. It would be longer if I didn't have the original fuda tag, but I think I could do it."

Itachi looked back at the rain pouring just a few feet out from the tree. Already, their clothes were beginning to wrinkle with the moisture. Sakura noticed that Itachi's hair, nearly done drying from earlier, was frizzing just the tiniest amount in the high humidity.

"As soon as you know that you can break this seal, I need you to find Naruto."

"_What_?" Sakura couldn't stifle her surprise. _That_ was possibly the last thing she expected Itachi to say. "What could you possibly be interested in Naruto for? Akatsuki is _dead_. And besides, I thought –"

"Before I died," Itachi cut her off, speaking patiently but with unquestionable authority, "I gave him a bit of my power."

Sakura didn't know what to say to that. She couldn't imagine what the man was even talking about. "What?" she repeated.

"I knew that Sasuke was finally going to confront me, and that he was strong enough and I was weak enough for him to win. I had always preserved, despite my health and situation, to one day fight my younger brother. However, after his defection to Orochimaru, I was uncertain about Sasuke's future."

This was all still new to Sakura, so wisely, she stayed quiet.

"When Naruto -and you- were deployed to capture me, Naruto and I crossed paths. It was then, when we talked, that I knew I could trust the boy with my brother's salvation. With no time of my own left, I gave Naruto a fraction of my power in order for him to use against Sasuke, should the need ever arise." Itachi exhaled gravelly. "I never thought I would need it for something like this."

All along, Sakura had been wondering if Itachi expected her to sacrifice a bit of herself to free him. This new revelation was -in a way- a huge relief. But Itachi needed to know there were problems with his plans. "Naruto's gone, Itachi."

Dark eyes again found hers. "I am aware he is not in Konoha."

"Yeah...but he's not somewhere easily accessible, either. Even I don't know his exact location. All I've heard is that he's out of the country. Probably hidden away because of the war."

It was bad news, she figured, but oddly enough, Itachi was smiling. It was small and more sad than happy, but the look was soft and somehow it suited him.

Sakura didn't want to see such a remorseful Itachi, so she went back to observing the rain's progress and scooting further up the tree to escape the water. "So, that was your course of action, huh? What will you do now?"

More silence above the sound of rain. Then Itachi turned his body towards her, his posture rigid. "Sakura..."

"You're going to ask me to do it?" It wasn't entirely a question; they both knew the answer.

"When you can perform the technique to dispel Kabuto's control, would you? Sakura?"

She waited to answer him, but eventually Sakura nodded her head. "I'll do it."

"Thank you," he said, voice formal and sincere. She felt her cheeks heat and responded to him quietly. "You should rest for now," he suggested after. "I know how to afford you more time to work on the seal, but it'll be exhausting."

Sakura liked the idea of taking a nap -her eyes had been heavy for awhile- but she was curious about his idea. "What is it, anyway?"

He frowned slightly. "You might not like it. I'd rather you rest before I told you."

In any other circumstance, certainly she would have demanded to be told what he was thinking, but Sakura carefully relaxed her wariness and just nodded her head. "Ok. Yeah, that sounds good." She concentrated her chakra around her body like a feathery coating, sensitive to any movement. It would remain while she slept, a disturbance in its presence would alert her to anything dangerous in her immediate vicinity.

"Will you stay awake then?" Itachi tilted his chin in the affirmative. She wondered whether or not he needed sleep – he probably did, but just hadn't realised that yet. What else had he overlooked in his current state? He had been dehydrated without knowing it – there was a chance he was sleep deprived as well. Sleep deprivation could make a person go mad in a very small amount of time. Shinobi could crack under such conditions.

These thoughts were her last as Sakura quickly slipped into unconsciousness. From there her mind was assaulted by odd images and even stranger musings. Most had to do with Naruto and Sasuke, some about random things like lavender sweets and needing a haircut. Others clearly reflecting what her physical body was experiencing; the sound of rain came and went as hours passed.

When Sakura awoke, it wasn't in any gradual, natural fashion; it was with a jolt of anxiousness and reflexive shinobi cautiousness. It took her a couple of seconds before she realised the intrusion into her chakra blanket wasn't an attack, but rather the weight of one tired shinobi passing out.

It was an incredible sight and feeling to have a notorious Uchiha resting against her shoulder.

...

"You are _really_ anti-climatic, you know?" But the summoned vessel didn't hear her, and so Sakura patiently took over his watch while Itachi remained quite unresponsive. She moved carefully, not waking him.

Without being able to see him very well, Sakura was plenty aware of his involuntary movements; like his slow and even breathing, the barely perceptible rise and fall of his chest. He had mentioned to her, during their travelling, his former life-threatening illness; now there was no trace of any such debilitation. Everything functioned smoothly.

It must be surreal for him, Sakura thought.

Only a few minutes passed before Itachi came back to himself, blinking awake while uttering a quiet apology.

"So what's not to like about your plan?" Sakura prompted, wasting no time. Itachi, however, was reluctant to answer. The rain had stopped for the moment and he took a few steps out from under the tree to look around. She watched him check their traps and reinforce the seals of the camp site.

"Are you well rested?" her company asked, avoiding her question.

"Not to the optimal level, but well enough, I suppose."

Itachi tightened some wiring. "Very well, that will do. Work very efficiently, Sakura, he will be here in a second."

When he turned around, Itachi's eyes were red and spinning.

O O O

**Author's Note:** Silly place to end. 8 B

Thanks everyone -all you loyal reviewers- for all the support.


	6. Feel You In My Bones

**Disclaimer:** Unfortunately, I do not own Naruto or any of its affiliations…I am merely borrowing its characters and settings to indulge my own fantasies and then share said fantasies with other people who equally do not own Naruto. I am not making any profit off this.

**Note:** The Japanese artist known as Lily does the most beautiful pictures of Itachi *_* I was told about her months ago, but have been revisiting her pictures a lot as of late.

**Chapter Five:** Feel You In My Bones

O O O

_What rushes into my heart and my skull, I can't control_

O O O

There was no transition between one place and the next; just suddenly white, black, and red.

Sakura blinked and felt her body seize up. Itachi was still standing a few feet in front of her, but even he was painted in the disturbing shades and splash of madness. The question of "who" didn't have time to leave her lips before _whatever this was_ had happened, and now her brain and mouth were sluggish to adapt to her new surroundings.

But the man across from her understood her confusion, probably reading it clear off her face, and took patient steps in Sakura's direction. His voice was calm and almost soothing, despite the words that made her blood cold. "This is my Tsukuyomi. In this world, in your mind, I have complete control over time and space."

"This is genjutsu," Sakura said a bit breathlessly, stating the obvious.

Itachi stopped just in front of her – Sakura hadn't shifted an inch– and studiously appraised her. "The very same I used on Hatake Kakashi. For seventy two hours I tortured him."

She felt the disquieting sensation of something in her chest falling quite heavily down her torso. Sakura's expression twisted from dazed to disgusted. "_Is that what you did?"_

Why was it that Itachi was standing so close all of the sudden? Was this world shrinking –closing in on her? How come no one told her about these things?

"Sakura," the self-proclaimed 'bestower of psychological anguish' called her name with unsettling coolness. "I did not use this technique on you for such a purpose."

Itachi moved to stalk around her, circling close enough to brush against her skin. Sakura turned with him, too scared to let him out her sight. She didn't follow how else a torture genjutsu could be used. "Then for what purpose?" He paused and she mirrored him; they were front to front again.

She had to tip her chin up in order to keep her eyes level with his as he stared her down. Itachi smiled, not at all softly, and Sakura swallowed nervously. "I have already explained my absolute control. I can use this genjutsu however I please."

The way he spoke made Sakura shiver. The intensity, the disturbing _promise_ behind his words, his blood red eyes. She thought of the man with a flower pressed to his lips, the one who had pulled her almost desperately against his chest, had asked her for her help, comforted her, confided in her... and now she looked back into the gaze of the shinobi preying on her.

Every part of him made her heart clench and flutter simultaneously. Never before had the line between paralysing fear and ardent fascination been so thin and wavering. No one had ever inspired such a tempting, painful reaction. Sakura broke their eye contact to glare at the black ground at her feet. These feelings were confusing and ought to be shameful.

...It was as if...

There was a laugh from Itachi, low and a bit too dark for Sakura's new image of him. "Greater things than this have happened in much less time," he said, his mouth curved in a questionable smile.

Sakura raised her gaze again to examine his face; she couldn't fathom what he was thinking. There were hints to his meaning in his expression, but it was more of a tease from him than anything substantial. Itachi looked almost smug with knowledge to which she was not at all privy. But she wanted to know. "What do you mean?"

His answer was a light pressure at her sternum, off centre in order to rest just above her heart. Itachi's thumb played with the clasp to her vest zipper. She stopped breathing, too intent on his scorching eyes that had focused on where his touch lay. Sakura lungs burned at the lack of oxygen, but she couldn't move from where his stare and hand stabbed into her chest.

Genjutsu was really very troublesome; it was more than _real,_ it was like experiencing the world a thousand times over in one instant. Every sense heightened, emotions overwhelming... It was devastatingly palpable for something so surreal.

"I apologise," Itachi said after much too long, talking to Sakura, but still staring at where his fingers met her chest. He sounded almost tired, much less on edge. "This world exposes all of my worst qualities."

When his hand fell away, a great weight went with it, allowing Sakura to gasp for air. She took a moment to compose herself, the impenetrable façade of indifference summoned again. Her mind had caught up to the situation, trying to figure out everything as best she could. "You said you control the world – time and space – here. So is this genjutsu how you've allowed more time for me to work on the seal? And...as for the 'who'...you're talking about Kabuto, aren't you? He'll sense that you've used such a chakra-draining jutsu and realise that you've gone."

If she kept talking maybe she could just avoid whatever else had been happening.

"While you were resting, I looked over your notes," Itachi reached his hand out again, and Sakura would have flinched at the movement if it had not been for the scroll he held. "I have added my own thoughts, they may be of some help."

Sakura took the proffered notes, her eyebrows drawn seriously. "You got this while I was resting?" As in, he'd moved through her chakra barrier without trouble.

Itachi smiled, more cleverly this time – he had so many different smiles – and stepped away. "Chakra is sensitive to dissimilar objects or obstructions. If one can match the nature of a chakra barrier, it is easy enough to slip through."

It was less than comforting, and very unsurprising, that Itachi's chakra control would rival her own. "Just great," she dead panned. Sakura folded her legs beneath her as she took a seat on the ground and spread the scroll out. "Just fan-freaking-tastic."

She set to work, if only to keep her mind away from self-criticism.

Time was passing, but there was no way for her to know it except for the progress of her theory. The Tsukuyomi world didn't have a sun, only an immobile moon. The atmosphere was still and terrifying in this way. There was no wind, but her skin tingled with the complete lack of circulation. Sakura wondered how she was able to breath.

But what was breathing if this was all just in her mind? And if this was her mind, and that person across from her was Itachi, did that mean he was actually browsing through her brain at this very moment? Is this what it was like for Ino when she used her clan jutsu? Could Itachi hear these thoughts as well?

Sakura glanced up from the scroll to stare at said man. He was staring quite casually right back at her. Nothing about his appearance gave away any answers, so she just blinked and returned her eyes to her scribbles.

After what felt like hours, Sakura realised she had hit a wall with her work. Of course, in this world, she couldn't be sure how much time had elapsed, but she was pretty certain she'd been contemplating a blank extent of scroll and lack of progress in her ink for a nice while.

If Itachi could produce anything in the genjutsu, then a table and texts would have been nice. Maybe help reinvigorate her efforts.

"I am limited to recreating knowledge of which either you or myself are aware." Sakura jumped at the sound of Itachi's voice – it sort of echoed in this world – but at least now she knew the extent of his eavesdropping jutsu.

It also gave her an idea. As every eager student was want to do, Sakura excitedly shared her thoughts. "Can you bring up anything from my memories? Give it a tangible form or something?" At his curt nod, she hopped to her feet eagerly. "Then can you do the same? Could we see the memories side by side or something? Just select things, of course."

"What would you like to see?"

"Chiyo-ba-sama," Sakura supplied hurriedly. "When she was with Gaara-kun." She thought of the specific instance and before she could really appreciate what she was asking to see, there it appeared.

It was slightly different, given the colour palette, but seeing the old woman crouched sadly over her dead grandson was as real now as it had been on that long passed day. Sakura's perkiness wilted. While finalizing an original jutsu was interesting, walking around the tangible image of a dead person was more than slightly distressing.

The cloth of the Sand kunoichi's tunic was aged and rough under her fingers, though Chiyo didn't respond to Sakura's actions. "Amazing..." _Terrible. _"I wanted to watch her hands, maybe see if I was unclear about anything. My mind works like a machine, that's how I memorize things so easily, but even for me, I sometimes get a blurry image when trying to recall something."

"You thought perhaps I could find a clearer image?"

Sakura shrugged, still fascinated with looking over Chiyo. "As perplexing as this jutsu already is, I thought, why not?"

Itachi appeared next to Sakura, his pant leg just barely brushing against her shoulder as she knelt at Chiyo's side. The air remained unaffected and heavy. "And from me?"

Her heart jumped at his arrival. Sakura kept her head bowed. "Has your Sharingan captured the Nidaime's technique?"

"I have never seen it."

It was worth asking, though she hadn't been sure Itachi would have been able to offer anything more than what he'd already written out on her notes. "That's fine, then. Thank you."

"There is nothing else you would like to see?"

Sakura had started studying the corpse of the fifteen year old kazekage. She tried not to think of anything else she would want to see from the Uchiha heir, but at his prompt, her mind had automatically flooded with inquiries that she had been holding back during their travelling. Things about his childhood, his parents, Sasuke – lots to do with Sasuke – and the massacre. Questions about Akatsuki and Orochimaru. She wanted to know more about his motivations for everything.

Warily,Sakura looked up at the man painted in white and black with freshly oxidized, blood red eyes. "No, nothing," she said, aware that he already knew otherwise. Sakura was honestly hesitant to find out more about Itachi; she figured most memories he had would be unpleasant or painful.

The admission was loud in his silence. Sakura grimaced and focused on Chiyo, watching as the woman began her final jutsu. "I've run into a hitch with my seal work, so I thought this could help."

"Of course," Itachi said, moving away once more.

The moon stayed locked in place as Itachi watched Sakura work. She would wonder every now and then how much time had elapsed, to which he would assert such a thing was inconsequential. The third time Sakura asked and received the same answer, she huffed tiredly and jerked around to glare at her rather trying company. "Isn't there some sort of limit to this genjutsu?"

"I have told you –"

Sakura waved a hand impatiently, interrupting Itachi. "Yes, yes, _absolute control _nonsense. Before this happened," – she gestured around, implicating the setting – "you said Kabuto would arrive any second. Which means, in the real world, time is still passing in our typically constructed increments. But in order for me to feel like more time has passed than actually has, the technique speeds up the nerve impulses in my brain to astronomical speeds. Therefore, before the jutsu can be used, you must determine how fast the electric current will run between neurons. You wouldn't have time to change it at will in the real world, because for the caster, he would not have enough time –"

When Itachi interrupted Sakura, it was not with the flick of his wrist, but with the cool touch of his fingers against her lips. Her body unhelpfully tensed beyond even twitching in reaction, the only movement being the jolting, erratic beating of her heart. Spinning black tears in blood encompassed her vision. "Medical ninja are extraordinary. They push knowledge to unbearable places, forcing their physical logic on the metaphysical realm."

Sakura inhaled shallowly, following his fingers as they traced the lines of her face with the sense of touch alone – she couldn't take her eyes from his. Where the air should have stirred with their mixed breath, there was only stillness and the strangely muted hum of electricity.

"When you are willing to accept that truth is imagined and fact is flexible, then you will surely excel. Beyond even your master, teacher, team mates..."

The edge of her vision darkened, lost in obscurity. The only things illuminated were the moon and its two subjects linked by white fingers.

"What you think is intangible is quite the opposite; it is as certain as the flesh of your body." Itachi's fingers stopped at her temple. "It is as essential as the organs on which you so devotedly rely. What you strive to achieve will take more than the power of your fists or the quickness of your wit."

Memories of herself speaking to Naruto and calling out to Sasuke conjured up out of the darkness, spilling into her peripheral like immature bruises. Sakura jerked from Itachi's light grip, stumbling back with her overcompensation. She could see what the man was trying to imply, but she couldn't stand his arrogance. The words were bitter in throat and just as harsh in the stale air. "Truth is not something you can just twist to your will. I've tried, believe me."

Sakura had tried to make herself feel things she never had – tried to inspire life in a dying flame. And failed. Repeatedly. Begging and crying and _wishing_ were never helpful, no matter how strong she had thought the motivating emotion to be. The only results she had ever achieved were ones she'd grasped with cold, hard fists. Sasori would not have swooned at her tearful pleas, Kankuro would not have lived on prayers, Hinata would not have healed from Sakura just giving a damn.

Itachi's face was blank – neither upset by her actions or surprised. "You are denying what is right in front of you."

Meaning himself. A dead man. Someone who was once nothing more than rotting muscle and deteriorating organs – softening food for the earth. A person who really had no right to be asking her for help, or lounging around in her head for that matter.

"You are having trouble with this jutsu," Itachi stated, not at all perturbed by her cold gaze, "because you cannot grasp the concept of the soul – of life energy – existing at all. Your medical texts have not provided any information on such a thing, neither has an autopsy or any lab experiment."

Sakura tried to escape Itachi's hand as it reached out again, but he persisted, finding her neck and jawline with an unwavering hold.

He continued, chasing her stubbornness with harsh, monotonous murmurs. "Even your own history has shown that emotional, soulful yearning earns nothing but exasperation and pain."

"What else should I expect from chemically induced artificial reactions?" Sakura bit out, frustrated enough to summon chakra to her fist in a clear display of "back the fuck off". Itachi moved his grip to her hair, bothered enough to match her glare with one of his own. She struggled to pull away from the clawing hold, hissing angrily. "Humans survive and prosper because of hormones and biologically impulses. Not because they have some greater purpose. Not because of love or anything like that!"

A short outburst and already she was gasping heavy air as if she'd just come out of a spar. The chakra at her hand crackled unstably before fizzling out. "I just don't understand. I don't _get_ it. How...how could she have done that..?" Her eyes had an unfamiliar feeling about them – the distinct lack of moisture despite her despair. Sakura was beyond tears at this point; she just stood rather limply, a pale handed grip still knotted into her short locks.

Were they white or red in this world? Looking like threads of blood wrapped around white fingers? Or just as pristine and empty as the offending appendages?

"Artificial?" The hollow echoing of the word made Sakura snap her head up. Itachi's eyes had cooled from fire into glossy, black coals. The burn was in his speech. "Artificial emotions would not be of the substance to overcome self preservation. _Artificial_ would not drive a person to sacrifice her life for another's. How callous you are to declare such determination as merely contrived."

Strange that she felt such a cold rush through her veins. Strange that she thought Itachi was not speaking about Chiyo. Dangerous that she felt the need to be contrary. "'It is not always enough, though, is it? Sincere or not."

Itachi had sacrificed his life for his brother; not only the very breath from his lungs, but his aspirations, his safety, his sanity...every aspect of his role in the world had revolved solely around Sasuke. Only for his precious one to then spit on his sacrifice and continue to renounce everything Itachi had ever loved and wanted.

At her remark, Sakura had flinched and prepared to be struck with no way to block or evade. The jab had burned through her lips like acid and landed with precision on Itachi's resolve, ready to eat away at him just as ardently. She had instinctively shrunk away from a most assured retaliation.

No promising sting came. "You are scared."

Sakura had closed her eyes, but tentatively opened them at Itachi's gently spoken observation.

"You are afraid of what all of this means – what my existence makes you reconsider. If souls truly exist, then so do your so declared 'artificial' emotions, only they are not as weak as you have come to ascertain. Yet now you have to question _why were they not enough_? Why, if it has worked for others, _why_ has your heart never been enough to satisfy those whom you want to save?"

A hard, unpleasant something had caught in Sakura's throat, radiating pain down deep into her chest and making her vision waver. "I'd have really given my soul to help him." The unpleasant thing was an anguished confession and choking sobs.

The distance between their bodies remained, stiff and unnavigable as she cried remorse she had long thought erased. All those days in isolation had forced her to re-examine and restructure herself. Sakura had spent hours on end contemplating her love, her desires, her life. She had come to realise that there was very little she could actually do that anyone else wasn't just as ready to contribute. For all the enduring love she claimed to have had, she was incredibly ineffective and expendable.

Even Naruto, who chased after Sasuke with unshakable devotion, had found her efforts detestable. Where her love could not have enticed him back to Konoha, surely her fists would have succeeding in dragging him home.

What good had her love proved in her encounters with Sasuke?

Why now should she feel any more confident in herself? If her emotions were so unreliable, what the hell should she expect from her soul? If she had one, then surely it was just as diluted and inept as the rest of her. How could she place her expectations and faith in something so feeble?

"You have placed your trust in Naruto," Itachi said, loosening his fist against her nape. "Do you think you are free to step away because of this? Stop dwelling on your failures. If for every one success, you must fail one hundred times, then so be it – you must stay resolute. The world will not wait for you and it will not cease to be difficult, no matter how far away you attempt to hide."

"It's not like I was going to become a recluse or something. I was still going to work at the hospital and everything."

Sakura's reasoning didn't stand with her captor. "When there is no heart, there is no meaning."

For the first time, Sakura really looked at the memories playing out on either side of her and Itachi. She watched Naruto's refusal of her confession and listened carefully to his voice as it echoed around her. It was different, somehow, than when she had first heard it. Similarly, she turned to watch when she'd confronted Sasuke, Itachi's hand sliding away to let her do so.

"I was never prepared for any of the things I had set out to accomplish," she admitted. But not because she was incapable, but rather that she had not for a second believed either goals had been attainable. Sakura had never fully committed herself to carry out those actions. "I knew from the beginning that neither Sasuke or Naruto would have fallen for my lies."

Itachi was also watching the memory of Sasuke and Sakura, squinting almost imperceptibly when the image switched to his younger brother strangling her as she dangled listlessly. "You knew you were not going to succeed."

"I had nothing else to give. I couldn't save my team, but I couldn't destroy it either." Sakura didn't want watch the memories any more. Her eyes felt heavy. Everything felt that way. She was barely aware that the darkness had reclaimed the memories; it was back to just the two recent partners huddled together.

"Do you know what you have to do now?" Itachi's question was softly spoken, masking his hopefulness.

"It's not really an issue of knowing or not knowing."

"Sakura," the edge was creeping back into his voice. "If you cannot manage this jutsu by the time the Tsukuyomi ends, we will be in a very dangerous situation."

She scoffed, annoyed at his unwanted reality check. "Of course I realise that," Sakura said, shrugging his hand off her shoulder, where it had furtively come to rest.

"You must use the shunshin jutsu to get as far away as possible."

Perhaps it was that he hadn't meant to make them appear that surprised Itachi when suddenly the land was bright once more with memories. A lot of them. Each one showed a different occasion when Sakura had been told in one way or another to escape, to 'rest assured', hide, stay back, to not get involved. Itachi carefully looked around at each one, disturbed by the sheer amount of belittling and shunning, but possibly more so by Sakura's dry, mirthless laugh.

"This is all I thought about for six days. No one to talk to, nothing to do. Just time to consider important moments in my life. _Important_..."

Itachi's sympathy was apparently lacking. In a second, the other Sakura's vanished. The only thing occupying her vision was a long, rolled up piece of parchment. "You are more than this, Haruno. Prove your worth."

Sakura snatched the paper and defiantly crumpled it at her side. "I don't need it any more. I know what I have to do."

"You know the jutsu?"

"Yes."

"How to utilize your life energy?"

"Yes."

"Good, we are almost out of time." Itachi tilted his head to stare at the moon, as if its stationary position was of any means to tell time. "You will feel a bit lethargic after coming out of the jutsu; it exhausts the target mentally."

"I'll push through it."

"Very well. Perform the technique at once."

She nodded, her resolve hardened. But there was one more thing she couldn't help but wonder... "Itachi, can you use this technique on yourself? You know...maybe to train, meditate..."

His answer filled her ears as the world shifted – blacks, reds, and whites fading. As she had known he would, he had discerned her real inquiry easily enough. "No, I cannot. There is no way for me to revisit happy memories. Not like this..."

Sakura tried not to notice his sad smile as the scene bled to green around them. It was too bad she hadn't used this opportunity to see a younger, happier Itachi with his equally carefree brother. The image would probably have been a nice one. "I'm sorry," she murmured, confident their mental connection was gone with the wave of dizziness she felt. "Sorry."

O O O

**Author's Note:** Efff this was too long... But I hope it's alright!

Thanks for all the great reviews (again!) ~


	7. On the Way Down

**Disclaimer:** Unfortunately, I do not own Naruto or any of its affiliations…I am merely borrowing its characters and settings to indulge my own fantasies and then share said fantasies with other people who equally do not own Naruto. I am not making any profit off this.

**Note:** The fight scene, somehow to me, felt like a western. That's all I could think of while writing it. Which makes me want to write an ItaSaku, Naruto story set in a Western-verse :D Anyhow, chapter eight and nine shall follow this shortly.

**Soundtrack:** The 3:10 to Yuma and Bible Study from that film's score. (Western, and all.)

**Chapter Seven:** On the way Down

O O O

_Where does the good go?_

O O O

They were back in the forest full of colour, away from the lunacy of the Tsukuyomi.

"Sakura, _now_," said Itachi, voice tight and commanding. His eyes were bright beneath an insistent glare as he stood before her, clearly ready for an impending attack. Itachi was rigid –a mission dominating his mind and body.

Their eyes were locked. Sakura's face curiously expressionless; her muscles didn't know how to communicate her thoughts to him. Smile? Sneer? Where he was coiled and focused, Sakura felt oddly loose and empty.

"The seals, Haruno." He moved forward, urgency weighing his words.

She was lethargic, arms slow and uncooperative. Tiger, Ram, Ox, Dragon, Horse... so many more and still her fingers felt heavy.

Itachi looked away, his gaze scanning the surrounding area carefully. Sakura watched his face, tracing the lines of his features with her eyes, noting all the little muscle twitches that gave away his worry. She thought it must be hard for him to be here with her, his tactful life plans amounting to nothing if this last minute effort of his didn't work out. Rigid, rigid.

Another seal, a tug in her chest that brought Sakura to her knees. Her hands slipped, but not enough to break the jutsu. _So this is what it is like to try and manipulate life energy._

Chakra was difficult for most to control, but for Sakura it was malleable and smooth. Life energy was not. It moved from her chest like congealing wax, slow and thick, but terribly brittle if she pulled too strongly.

Another seal.

She felt breathless, halfway collapsed on the ground.

A wire snapped.

O O O

In many ways, humans are different from one to the other. The obvious differences like colouring, reproductive organs and skeletal frames are immediately discernible, but there are also more subtle biological slights that distinguish individuals from being clones.

Like the workings of the brain.

When Uchiha Itachi cast his genjutsu on Sakura, his focus went to her cerebral cortex, temporal lobes, and thalamus. From there he took control of her sensory and motor functions via the thalamus, memory recollection through the temporal lobes, and the slightly significant function of the frontal lobe – her consciousness. These areas of the brain are responsible for one's "executive control", or a person's cognitive responses and willed actions. They were the areas that responded to the genjutsu, creating Sakura's sense of being trapped in another world for countless hours.

In that neurological trap, Itachi forced Sakura's consciousness to work within his parameters.

But that's where the evolutionary strength of varied brain development gave Sakura a _little_ bit of an edge in an otherwise unbeatable jutsu. Some individuals have more than one process of "executive control". Trauma victims sometimes exhibit a similar phenomena, when one area of the brain is damaged, another will essentially make up the work. In her case, Sakura was just lucky enough to be born different.

It had already helped her in the past with other jutsu, and although it was not capable of dispelling the Sharingan technique, it did allow her private reprieve from Itachi's otherwise omnipotent presence.

O O O

"Who is it?" Sakura bothered to ask from where she tried to inconspicuously keel over.

To any casual observer, Itachi was just standing there. To Sakura, she could almost see the electricity crackling around his body, and she waited for his hair to stand on end he was so tense. Like he was literally charged. He answered her, though not really, "he's not alone."

Sakura was about to snap at him for saying possibly the least helpful thing at the moment, but he wisely continued.

"A pair of hunter nin from Lightening Country." There was some part of her that wanted to sigh in relief – any answer was better than Kabuto, she thought. Itachi quickly righted her however. "They were shinobi specifically trained to counter the Sharingan."

"Are they any good at it, though?" she ventured, the question spaced awkwardly between her heavier breathing. Her hands formed the seals: Shivalinga, Shankha, Pasha...

Another wire snapped –purposefully, the trap having been dismantled. Itachi murmured, "yes."

The ground seemed to be attempting to make itself a vertical plane suddenly, and Sakura could not care to decide whether it was from her displeasure at this development or the energy-depriving final seal that sent her careening over sideways at last.

Itachi caught her before she fell very far, his cloak already fanning out over the dirt beneath her. His eyes were trained on hers and they both silently dared to hope for the success of her technique. She reached her arm around to his back. "Kishō Tensei."

Sakura's chakra and life energy match the colour of her eyes, and in the execution of the jutsu, she could see yellow sparks of foreign energy exploding like little firecrackers within it. As it destroyed the summoning seal, there was a feeling of displacement settling oddly in her chest.

"Now, please," she managed to say, watching as the last of the warmly glowing light disappeared behind Itachi's back, "kindly look after this matter for me."

Another one of Itachi's smiles, this one small and secretive, a little confident. "I have defeated them once before," he trailed off. The next instant he turned, deflecting kunai, and she rolled, transporting herself some twenty away. Sakura reappeared on the remains of a long fallen over tree, where the under-brush had slowly infected the upturned root system and reclaimed it. She was hidden comfortably in the mess, but doubted her significance would draw any attention from the hunter nin puppets.

Itachi stayed in the small clearing where they had made camp. He was spinning through taijutsu stances, two enemies relentlessly attacking. There was metal connecting with metal, and the scoff of footing across dirt, but otherwise the natural sounds of the forest proved more noisy than the fight. Her heartbeat, too, and the blood circulating between her ears. It seemed surreal to watch Uchiha Itachi fight without some overwhelming musical score to accompany his flawless movements.

His opponents were also flawless. They moved together seamlessly, to a point where it was unsettling. One would attack to create an opening the other had almost been waiting for, which was impossible to predict in free fight, especially against someone like Itachi, who happened to take bits and pieces of several different martial arts styles. The fact that both hunter nin appeared to be blind added to the awe of the spectacle. A strong line of blue paint stretched across each of their faces, covering the area between their brows and cheekbones. White paint highlighted the scars from a deep slash that must have taken their vision.

Sakura frowned as the taijutsu fell way suddenly to a mid-range attack. Itachi had been the one to create the distance, his speed unable to match prolonged attacks from the Kumo pair. She remembered Sasuke having similar trouble against Rock Lee years ago. When the user's body cannot keep up with that of the opponent, then even the Sharingan cannot guarantee victory. But...to her, it seemed like this fact should not apply to the prodigious heir of the Uchiha clan. Not to the man who had defeated Orochimaru, not to the person who was Sasuke's greatest rival.

There was blue paint across Itachi's hands. Sakura only understood its importance when Itachi ran his hands through a set of seals, and one of the nins across from him mimicked the signs perfectly and instantaneously. Her memory again conjured images from years past, this time of Kakashi and Zabuza. But the favour then had been in her sensei's. Now it was Itachi who had to deal with the disturbing mimicry.

His response was a giant Katon jutsu, which his enemy reciprocated, apparently sharing a fire affinity. The fire streams met and raged against one another, sending flames outward in a fan as the attacks struggled to dominate the other. Expectedly, Itachi was more skilled in controlling the technique, but as soon as he began to gain ground on the Kumo nin opposite him, the other nin was suddenly at his side, blade outstretched. The Sharingan had saved him, and Itachi was able to deflect the stab, but dropped his Katon to do so.

Each time he went to use another technique, the Kumo nin, the smaller of the pair, would copy it, and the other one would always be attacking whenever an opening presented itself.

But Itachi was not called a genius for nothing. When his attacks were limited and copied in their essence, he devised a way to get his environment to give him an advantage. Random water-type attacks and the subtle movement of the fighting stadium had actually been part of Itachi's scheme for the cooling and liquefaction of naturally occurring biogases from surrounding swamps (common in this part of Grass Country). He used the dehydrated air, full of methane, butane and other gas accelerates, to then fuel another Katon attack.

It annihilated the Kumo nin who had been copying his movements, as well as part of the forest around them.

Free to move without limitation, Itachi subdued the second hunter nin imperceptibly fast.

Sakura abandoned her hiding spot to join him, amazed at the battle's swift culmination. "Do you want me to take care of that?" she asked, appearing at his side not a second later. She was already summoning chakra to her palm, eager to examine the lightening scorches he had received across his forearms.

"Sakura?" Itachi said, almost unbelievably surprised at her sudden arrival. Surprised and angry.

With good reason too, she thought as she lurched backgrounds with the abrupt intrusion of a nine inch long blade into her torso. It was coming from the outstretched limb of a yet fully formed figure of ash.

"A medic?" said the disembodied voice of the Kumo nin who just a moment ago had been incinerated. Stupefied, "there was a second target?"

Fear made Sakura move. A small collection of senbon needles broke through the speaking nin's skull, sliced through the brain and ended all functions other than those associated with a vegetative state. The ash continued reshaping the body, but the brain was unable to regenerate. "Correction: I'm a ninja."

"Sister? Sister!" called the second Kumo nin, clearly confused by what was happening.

"Sakura," Itachi repeated, helping steady her as she withdrew the blade. It had cut her lateral abdominal muscles, relatively harmlessly passing through the right subphrenic space above her liver. She dropped the weapon and it fell with a dull clatter next to its owner.

"Sister! Sister! What's happening?" But then was quiet.

The blood soaked into her shirt, staining the fabric in a pretty pattern as it determinedly travelled outward. Sakura was not immediately concerned with their target but, if it was possible, she felt her blood run a bit slower, cooler, when he started talking again.

His intonation had changed to something polite, friendly, sly. "_Don't jump to conclusions. I have no intention of hurting her, rather it's the opposite. We have a common goal."_ It was the same speaker, but the words were coming from a foreign mouth. He spoke, "Uchiha Itachi. You delight me with so many surprises."

Kabuto.

Sakura felt sick. Incensed. Weak, too. But with more hope than perhaps ever before.

"How do you intend to enjoy your freedom?" Kabuto asked cheerfully. "Wondering about your brother, are you?"

Itachi had wrapped his arms around Sakura's shoulders, but his grip remained constant and relaxed. "He is my only concern."

The Kumo nin smiled, sweat from his skin trickling around the edges of his lips. Sakura could see now how young he was. Or rather, had been. "Well then, you do not have to worry, caring older brother. He is not yet entered onto the board. Though I would not advise looking for him, if I were you. Sasuke-kun is a little, to say this delicately, _hate-filled_ at the moment."

The tiniest fluctuation – Itachi's fingers flexed minutely tighter.

"You said he has yet to get entangled in your plans? Does he intend to fight for you?"

"Let us just say Sasuke-kun and I have a common agenda." Kabuto was trying to rile Itachi, throw it in the other's face just how completely his plans had backfired. Instead of driving his younger brother to abhor those who acted out of malice and revenge, and to find strength in bonds as opposed to selfishness, Itachi's illusion of himself had become Sasuke's very image.

"And what of Akatsuki?" Itachi asked.

Laughter from within the ring of black fire. "Dissolved, I suppose."

"Yet Naruto remains a target." Itachi stated smartly, catching the other man unexpectedly. It had never been Kabuto's, or Orochimaru's for that matter, goal to capture the Nine Tails container, but with Akatsuki disbanded, then the reality of another agent's actions were obvious. That person being Madara in Itachi's opinion.

"Have you been gathering intelligence?" Kabuto's tone remained mockingly casual. "Care to expand upon your findings?"

Itachi had no intention to answer. A strange thing was happening around them. A cloud had appeared, made from Itachi's chakra. It was all around him, and Sakura too, from where she leaned against him. She tried to look around to figure out what it was, but the only thing she could discern was a pair of giant, ethereal arms covered in ancient armour. They seemed to be attached to the body of what was enveloping them. One hand reached forward to the enemy bodies, but they each disintegrated before she could see what was going to happen.

The chakra cloud dispersed, and Amaterasu faded out. Another wave of rain descending upon them.

"Kabuto did not know you were here," Itachi observed. The relief Sakura had been trying to savour dwindled. She waited for him to say what she had been futilely wishing he would not notice. "The Kishō Tensei requires life energy from the user. You used that and your chakra to negate Kabuto's influence. And when you succeeding in doing that, you then infused your own will where his was absent."

Rain and the sizzle of fire as it died out.

She said softly, "I felt your chakra patterns when I examined you. Your body recognised my chakra, accepted it, became used to it. I just copied your signature as best I could. And so, at least initially, it was not rejected."

"Please take care of this matter for me," he said in reverie, and Sakura knew he was thinking back to what she had said to him earlier. "It was a command."

His body was very warm around her own. "It will be ok," she tried to promise. "We have a common goal."

The smoke obscured the rain.

O O O

**Author's Note:** Feels good to get back to this story! n.n Sorry for the editing mistakes. Honestly, I dislike reading my own work, so it's difficult to fix errors x)


	8. Dark

**Disclaimer:** Unfortunately, I do not own Naruto or any of its affiliations…I am merely borrowing its characters and settings to indulge my own fantasies and then share said fantasies with other people who equally do not own Naruto. I am not making any profit off this.

**Note:** This story is rated M!

**Chapter Eight:** Dark

O O O

_You can't come soon enough for me_

O O O

There was never enough time, Sakura thought as she walked through a particularly noisy part of the path. Every step suctioned in her boot soles and then protested loudly when she yanked it free. It was muddy and damp and annoying. And unavoidable. Around the path was a low lying marsh and then sparsely populated young forests. The usual ease of travelling over tree limbs was not an option.

Behind her she could her Itachi's slower steps, and it was the only sound coming from him as he had not spoken in several hours. She had tried explaining her actions again, feeling compelled for someone to reassure her that she was doing something understandable, but his mouth had stayed firmly set. "We have the same objectives," didn't move him at all. Granted, she had not gone into deeper details about her intentions, she just needed him to hear her out. It made her chest tighten. Here was another human just within her reach, but she felt as isolated as she had back in the barracks.

It was probably too much to ask a person to trust her after she had personally bonded his will to her own. Bitter with this objection, Sakura bit into another nutrient bar and took the frustration out in her chewing.

"Do you need any more water," she called over her shoulder, using it more as an excuse to eye her company. Itachi looked the complete opposite of how she felt. She stopped short, as she had done many times previous because of her company's pace, and considered the man uneasily.

He looked perfectly passive and uninterested. Itachi probably hated her. She _was_ the most talented at gaining an Uchiha's animosity.

"It's getting late. Would you care to turn in for the night?" The suggestion went unanswered, Itachi walked up to her and then past her without any change in countenance. She quieted a grumble and scanned the local geography for some high ground, deciding that a low mountain maybe a kilometre away would be a good place to stop.

When she altered their direction slightly, there was no complaint.

On the hillside, Sakura contemplated the sparse vegetation. There was moss and ferns and plenty of shrubbery, but nothing substantive. Some distance below where she and Itachi stood was a stream that fed into the swamp area that they had just left. Running down on either side of her were smaller rivulets formed from run-off water. A light bulb, figuratively, went on in her mind.

After a short trek, circumventing the hill a little ways, Sakura found what she had hoped to discover.

"It's gypsum," she announced, referring to the rocky crevasse splitting the land like an upside down V. "Very prone to fracture caves."

Itachi did not react.

"It might be damp, but it's shelter." The ground was fragmented and gravelly beneath her soles, slick despite the water-heavy air refusing to fully accept the concept of 'rain'. While picking her way up to the driest part of the cave, Sakura's step faltered. Chakra immediately lined her palms and she was able to catch herself, but not before a steadying hand had landed on the side of her hip.

It was retracted as quickly as it appeared, leaving warmth from the contact to seep slowly away in its wake. Sakura felt an odd chill pass through her, and decided she would rather ignore the sensation, she moved a little faster..

Inside the makeshift dwelling, the atmosphere was tense. After walking for nearly the entire day with a good amount of distance between them, it was a stark adjustment being so close inside the cave. Sakura had allowed Itachi as much space as she could, but even then he was still within arm's reach no matter where she settled.

She placed an illuminating scroll between their seated positions as a last attempt to cushion their proximity.

Both occupants took to staring at the pleasant orange glow, and Sakura realised, with little surprise, that Itachi had gained absolutely no intention of saying anything. He had settled against the rock wall, having placed his cloak behind him to soften its jagged edges, and looked beyond being bothered by talk. Minutes passed in silence, only the insect life and random water drops providing any sort of relief. Itachi's eyes remained open and focused, but otherwise his body was so relaxed he appeared almost to be asleep.

"Are you comfortable?" Sakura asked, her voice a little hoarse, and she grimaced both at that and the sheer crassness of the question. In light of his situation, it was a shallow thing to say.

Itachi did not answer.

"If you need water or ...well, just say something." She fidgeted nervously, the motion comically exaggerated compared to her companion's stillness. "I don't really know how this works. I mean, if you have to brush your hair from your eyes or something, can you do that?"

Of course, being a former ANBU member, she figured he might have willed "the tickles" and other such human foils out of himself years ago. Because he was a person who could do things like that, Sakura thought. He could probably keep the hairs on his neck from rising, or a sneeze from coming, and here he was under her complete control. As close to perfect a specimen one would ever hope to find in the shinobi world, and yet Uchiha Itachi was operating at her will.

The thought, the reality, made Sakura feel a little ill actually. She tried to keep that sentiment from showing, however, as she continued observing the man across from her. "What was I supposed to do," she said suddenly, "just let you go and risk my life? You can't act all broody and betrayed when you know, you _know_, that I had every right to do this."

"You did not trap me like this for the sake of preserving your life, kunoichi," Itachi finally spoke, and his cold tone was enough to inspire the hairs on Sakura's nape to straighten. With some bitter humour, she noted absently that she was unable to will the action away. His gaze remained locked on the scroll.

Curious, and hopeful now that he was responding, she asked, "why do you think I'm doing this?"

Itachi gave her a flat look, unimpressed with the question. Did he think the answer was obvious? He had been refiling around in her mind not too long ago, but she was curious about his deductions. "I do not think you fully understand why you have trapped me."

Her eyebrows drew together. "Care to enlighten me?"

Outside the cave the sky was a gradient of light to dark blue, but the heavy clouds served well to obscure it. Only patches of the colours could be spotted. Itachi had moved his gaze in that direction. "You keep insisting it has to do with Sasuke. Because you love him."

The frown faltered. Sakura brushed some stray dirt from her exposed calves. "We've been over this. I don't love your brother, obviously. I'm just..." _In love with him, _ her mind supplied despite her effort to find something else. "Damn."

"You are very deeply concerned with Sasuke," Itachi said.

"I've told myself for years that I love him. Sasuke was always cool and capable, and as a child I was very impressed." The skin above her boots was clean again, she didn't notice this as her hands kept moving. "I began to realise, when we were teamed together, that he was very determined. He was also isolated and hurting. I think I told myself I could be the person to help him through his struggles. All along it's been Naruto, though. Sasuke was looking for you, Itachi. I didn't know this always, but he found that bond in Naruto." Sakura laughed shortly, "not that Sasuke was very eager to accept that idea.

The only thing I know to do, though, is keep walking the same path I always have. '_I love Sasuke, I want to help him, I'm not strong enough to do it._' And press repeat."

"Have you decided you do not love him?" Sakura looked up to find that Itachi's attention had returned to her face.

She ignored the question. Maybe she didn't want Itachi to understand her motivations. "Let's talk about our course of action. Do you think Kabuto knows where Sasuke is? How did you find him before?"

"Are you going to look for him even though you do not love him?"

Enabling selective hearing, Sakura poked at the scroll again and tried to inspire the conversation in a different direction. "I know he had that team with him last time, but it seems they've been separated since you're revival."

"Are you still in ‒"

"I don't care about that any more!" Sakura snapped, jumping to her feet. "You already know what I think of that emotion. Nothing's changed. Even with that technique. _Nothing's changed_."

Not changing was another thing Sakura was best at. She might get new clothes, a new hair cut, a new teacher, but really she had not changed over the years. Try as she might, she never finished what she started and someone else would come along and save her in the end. Chiyo, Kakashi, Naruto. That was just the reality of her life. "Stop," she said aloud, "ok? Stop."

Sakura really didn't like the direction of this.

Suddenly Itachi was standing too. "You asked."

"Well, I take it back. I don't want to say again why 'love'" -and here she actually used air quotation marks- "is so flimsy." But the rant was on the tip of her tongue. "It's just chemicals. It's _all_ chemicals in the end. I was lonely, saw an attractive guy, chemicals did this and that. But I constructed everything else around some dumb poetic idea imagined in order to make the thought of mortality in this world just a little less maddening."

"I am standing right here, Sakura-san." And he was. There was a ghost in front of her. A living, warm blooded body of flesh and bones, dead man. A _dead_ man was more likely to succeed where she had failed. She felt suddenly winded. Quickly followed again by a familiar sense of fear and incredulity that had been threatening to throttle her for days. This strange resurrected person was more capable in the living world than herself; a damn zombie was outclassing her in emotions.

An urge to pull at her hair seized her, because if she didn't tug at it and curl up in this moment Sakura was certain the odd swelling in her chest and head would overwhelm her until she positively burst. In the cool night air all she managed was an unsteady, sharp gasp. "_Kami_. What the _hell_ are you doing here?"

A desperate whisper that neither of them knew to whom it was addressed.

"But no, no," Sakura said, loosing some sense of where she was. A cave right? Everything seemed so drastic ‒severe between the orange glow and the encroaching shadows. "_You're_ not infallible," directly to Itachi. "You -you've gotten fooled too."

The man narrowed his eyes minutely. As close as Itachi was, however, she saw the tensing of the muscles easily. It was an expression that relayed doubt and scrutiny. She had seen it before, knew that it meant he clearly disagreed with what he deemed to be a ridiculous notion.

But he was _fooled_, she realised, and it calmed her. Sakura smiled very slightly, eyes half closed. "You're lonely, too." Quietly, as if she were admitting a secret. "It's no different from being lonely, that love of yours."

"...What?" Itachi was confused enough to express it so both verbally and physically. The word came from him like it was foreign to his vocabulary.

"That's what drives us all. It's why you let Sasuke live, because you couldn't bear the thought of loosing absolutely every one. You loved him because he made you feel happy, and when that state was threatened, you kept him alive to keep yourself from losing that feeling."

Itachi replaced his detached mask. On a sigh, "stop being so presumptuous, konoichi."

But she was _right_. Sakura knew it. "Except now, here you are, back from eternity, and you've got another chance to understand everything. And it's gotten to you, again, but it's different now. You've no longer any need to limit your happiness to your brother. Those chemicals are telling you something new."

His mouth was a firm line.

"Come on, _Itachi._ So is it love or loneliness that makes you want to touch me?"

There was a short, derisive sound. The man in front of her looked to the scroll at their feet and closed his eyes. "You should stop talking."

Did he expect her to walk away from this? "You admitted as much inside your own Tsukoyomi," she taunted_. "'Greater things than this_,' you said."

Greater things than what, exactly?

"That is enough," Itachi's voice was lower.

"Is something upsetting you? I don't know why. I'm giving you permission to touch me when before you've just gone ahead and taken‒"

There was an abrupt landing, knocking the air in her lungs clear out. Sakura was outside the cave, in the dark, back against the ground some twenty metres below the cave. Itachi was leaning his entire weight into her as he pinned her down. The length of his body encompassing her, one arm snaked under her shoulder while a leg nudged between her thighs.

Breathless, she struggled to wrench away and to find oxygen. It came shakily, and her movements to free herself turned into erratic searches for an anchor. Her hands ran from Itachi's arms to his neck, shoulders to the hair pulled back at his nape. Sakura was panting in the damp, cool night air, panicked and quivering as her fingers clutched at the heat and stability above her.

He was breathing deeply; she could feel it stir between them, dance warmly across her skin. Everything thing about him was warm. His free hand found the hem of her shirt and raked under the fabric against her bare skin, drawing a feverish trail up to her breast. A calloused thumb swept over its peak, his fingers pushed into her as they moved, constricted under layers of wraps.

A noise caught in her throat as a thrill quivered from her toes all the way up her spine and down again to settle above the junction of her legs. Sakura was moving, meeting the warmth wherever she could, drawing it to her, clinging onto it. She buried her face into the crook of Itachi's neck, letting her lips brush against his skin.

The hand left her chest in the same instant his other arm pulled out from around her to instead knock her flat. From her ribs down her side, Itachi slid his hand lower, under the line of her shorts.

"W...wha..." she tried, but then there was pressure just below that quivering coil of thrill. She couldn't stand it, writhing to avoid it or to welcome it. The pressure dragged and swayed, building in tempo, beckoning the coil to snap. And then it was thrust inside her, and she was surrounding it, Her hips bucked and a cry scratched out of her throat, several little whimpers.

"For your loneliness," Itachi said, breaths interrupting the rough drawl as he continued to rock his hand against her, "the only company you seek is pain."

O O O

**Author's Note:** Whew. Well, this is _so_ the right place to stop.


End file.
